The first blog entry of 2019! I have been slacking, however there will be several big things going on in the New Year as new projects ramp up and a few wind down. A new book is in the works, potentially two of them, for 2019 along with many database projects as the year rolls out. 2018 was a great year even though there have been some disappointments both professionally and otherwise.

Archery season is winding down here in MO and ends on January 15th. It has been a very frustrating year as I started off with my sights on a nice Pope and Young class 10 pointer only to no longer see him again after gun season. The first season that I have hunted just one particular animal while passing up lots of others only to end up with no tags filled and only 2 weeks left in the season. That’s why they call it “hunting” and not shooting.

As if hunting with a primitive implement is not challenge enough it is only harder when hunting public ground and small woodlots, especially when chasing a single animal for harvest. Deer have a fairly wide range, up to several miles during the rut, or breeding season, and this means that the same animal one may be targeting is very often also being hunted by someone else as well, or that someone else may get very lucky. It can be very disappointing after you have done your homework and put in a lot of time to lose out on a record book buck. This happened to me this year as I believe a neighbor tagged out on the same buck I was after, however harvesting the big fellow during the firearm season and not with a bow, what a waste.

The professional disappointments were minor, however presented some challenges in regards to staffing and the ability to wrap up some loose ends for 2018 being somewhat inhibited. The Tech Sector has almost always been wrought with the proverbial job hopping in order to advance one’s career which plays havoc at the staffing and managerial level. This combined with the fact that Saint Louis appears to have a shortage on Tech workers while having an influx of open positions makes it somewhat difficult to fill positions.

Another difficulty is the inflated expectations of the younger members of society entering the work force. I have had the pleasure of interviewing candidates that were fresh out of college with a few months of related experience that wish to enter the database administration field with salary expectations of 80k a year or more. Maybe it is just me and being from a *slightly* older generation, but I find that amazing! The price of a college education has increased significantly over the years, so there is some correlational metrics that validate an increase in starting salaries. Boy, what I could have done starting out at 80k a year! Or even 40k!

Anyhow, as 2019 starts off and archery season winds down my blogging entries will increase with some excerpts from my next book on MariaDB, so please stay tuned as the first technology subject of year 2019 will be related to encryption, both for data at rest and in transit.

It’s time to hit the great outdoors.